Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall stunned TV viewers today showcasing a dramatic new look—which fans commented was worlds away from her Noughties heyday style.
Now 49-years-old, the Brit Award-winning singer, who had a hit with Suddenly I See in 2004 hasn’t been a familiar face in recent years, having battled with her health.
Earlier this week she revealed in a radio interview that she had suffered a persistent problem that left her feeling as though she was ‘completely underwater’.
Speaking frankly to LBC’s James O’Brien, the Noughties star opened up about the shock of losing all hearing in her left ear while on tour in 2018.
The Scottish singer previously said she believes her problems were triggered by years of exposure to loud music, without adequate ear protection.
Recalling how it began, she said: ‘I was struggling a little bit with people speaking on that [left] side and I had tinnitus at that point, as well, and then I thought, ‘That was that’, you know, a bit of damage.
‘But obviously, it was the beginning of it cracking up completely.
‘I was on tour in America, actually, and I woke up on the bus, took my ear plug out and no difference at all.’
Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall stunned TV viewers today showcasing a dramatic new look—which fans commented was worlds away from her Noughties heyday style
The Scottish singer previously said she believes her problems were triggered by years of exposure to loud music, without adequate ear protection
Earlier this week she revealed in a radio interview that she had suffered a persistent problem that left her feeling as though she was ‘completely underwater’
‘And I thought, ‘Oh God’, I was just completely underwater—I lost my hearing. It didn’t come back. Still have the tinnitus, which is annoying.’
After cancelling her tour, KT went public about her hearing issues, warning others not to make similar mistakes.
‘I’d never been particularly careful about my hearing over the years, especially as a clubber through my 20s and cranking the volume up on bad monitors at my early gigs,’ she said.
She added that her tinnitus—hearing high pitched phantom noises, such as persistent ringing—first appeared in 2010, when she was in her early 30s.
Tinnitus is typically associated with damage caused by exposure to loud noise, coupled with hearing loss.
Other musicians who have gone public about suffering the condition include Coldplay front-man Chris Martin, Electronic musician Moby and Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am.
KT has previously said in an interview with RNID: ‘Like most people when they’re young, I loved loud dance music and going clubbing.
KT revealed that her tinnitus—hearing high pitched phantom noises, such as persistent ringing—first appeared in 2010, when she was in her early 30s
‘When I was at college, I would go clubbing for hours and I would get a ringing in my ear the next morning.
‘Then it really set in after I’d started touring heavily and I noticed it was not going away in my left ear.
‘I’m pretty sure the tinnitus is from noise damage to my ears, being around extremely loud sound systems, and dancing too close to the speaker – I would do that differently if I could do it again.’
Like many tinnitus sufferers, KT admits her mental health has suffered as a result of her issues.
‘I would say that it was causing me some depression.’
The star admitted hearing loss coupled with tinnitus made her feel ‘very reclusive’—to the extend she hid on her tour bus ‘under the covers’.
‘It was overwhelming, you cannot really think about anything else,’ she said. ‘You cannot focus on conversations and it’s difficult to get to sleep.
‘It can be really, really upsetting, and it took some time to accept that it was going to be there all the time.’
Now 49-years-old, the Brit Award-winning singer, who had a hit with Suddenly I See in 2004 hasn’t been a familiar face in recent years, having battled with her health
Other musicians who have gone public about suffering tinnitus include Coldplay front-man Chris Martin, Electronic musician Moby and Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am
KT says she has now learned to cope, despite her tinnitus at first feeling ‘unmanageable’.
She said: ‘I can really understand how it sends some people mad and affects their life.
‘I had to make a spiritual, very personal decision that this was not going to happen to me.
‘If I’m tired or exhausted, or if I’m working too hard, it starts screaming. So, for me, my tinnitus is a good gauge for my wellness and whether I’ve been overexerting myself.’
She adds: ‘The kicker is, I still have the tinnitus, even in a deaf ear.
‘I’ve adapted really well and can still perform and record, but if I could do it all again, I would definitely make sure I was going for regular hearing checks from a young age.’
